London-based venture capital firm Balderton Capital had an exceptionally strong 2025 — largely thanks to a bet it made a decade earlier. In 2015, Balderton became the first external investor in the fintech startup Revolut. Last year, it partially cashed out that stake for $2 billion, even though its original investment was just £1 million. According to the Financial Times, the deal now ranks among the most profitable in the history of European venture capital.

How it happened

• Balderton traces its roots back to 2000, when it was created as the European arm of Silicon Valley venture capital firm Benchmark Capital. Benchmark had already made a fortune from its 1997 investment in eBay — one of the most notable wins in VC history — and later backed companies such as Uber, Twitter, and Snap.
• By the mid-2000s, however, it became clear that Benchmark had no global ambitions and wanted to focus on the US market. The two groups split. As a result, Balderton’s fifth fund became the hardest to raise in the firm’s history, since investors now had to be convinced to commit capital without Benchmark’s brand behind it.
• That fund would soon get its defining investment. In 2015, Balderton Capital led the first funding round for Revolut, the fintech startup co-founded by Ukrainian entrepreneur Vlad Yatsenko. Balderton put in £1 million of the £1.5 million raised, at a post-money valuation of £6.7 million.
• Fast forward to today: Revolut is valued at $75 billion and is preparing for an initial public offering that could happen as early as this year. In 2025, Balderton booked $2 billion in profits by selling part of its stake, including a roughly $1 billion block in November, as well as additional transactions earlier in the year.
• Even after the cashout, Balderton remains a major shareholder. According to sources, its stake exceeded 10% before the sales.
• Balderton itself has also evolved. In 2021, the firm launched a growth fund to support more mature startups. However, it has so far stayed out of the increasingly expensive race to back large AI model developers such as Europe’s Black Forest Labs or Mistral.

«The tech industry is prone to sharp swings,» says Daniel Waterhouse, a Balderton partner who sat on Revolut’s board for several years. «A lot of people get swept up in hype and drama. We try to keep a pretty balanced approach.»

Why it matters: a landmark VC success

• Revolut is now by far the most successful investment in Balderton’s 25-year history. Over that period, the firm has raised $5.7 billion in capital.
• Balderton’s fifth fund — the one that holds the Revolut stake — has already returned more than 25 times the $305 million raised initially from investors.
• In 2025 alone, people close to the firm say Balderton distributed billions of dollars to investors in Fund V and Fund VI, the latter of which raised $375 million in 2017. More payouts are still expected as the firm continues to hold residual stakes in Revolut and other companies.
• Revolut’s success has been amplified by a string of wins across Balderton’s broader portfolio — from energy group Fuse reaching a $5 billion valuation in December to the $1.1 billion sale of fintech company GoCardless last month.
• There is also a strong Ukrainian angle. Balderton’s portfolio includes Quantum Systems, a German maker of reconnaissance drones that is well known in Ukraine. Since Balderton’s first investment in May, the company’s valuation has tripled to €3 billion.
• Quantum Systems and Ukrainian defense tech startup Frontline Robotics are now building Europe’s first fully automated industrial drone production line for the Ukrainian Armed Forces. If it succeeds, it could become Balderton’s next major win — once again with Ukrainians playing a key role.